Qalvanic battery



No Modelf) 2 sheensneet i- R. W. GORDON. GALVANIG BATTERY,

No. 542,049. Patented July' 2, 1895.

' 2 foo (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 21 R. W. GORDGN. GALVANIG BATTERY.

No. 542,049 Patented July 211895.

yanic Batteries,

. xe batteries and proved construction, in which-the positive and z5 tcfore used .3e the battery,

- `consuming theactive materials 4o tions, the said depolarizing. agent being the subject of the present invention 5o the negative element,

- UNrTEn STATES arten,

RALPH W. connes, orY BosroN,MAssAoHUsn'rTs.

eser/Anto earrsav.

SPECIFICATION. forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,049, dated July 2, 189.55.v Appears@ ne@ 'num s1, ma. sel-n1 No. 536,762. (mman.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH W. GORDON, of

Boston, county of Suiolktateof Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Galof which the following dles cription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, lik'e letters on the drawings representing like parts. The present 'invention relates to galvanic is embodied in a cell of imnegative elements and the depolarizing agent are arranged to obtain the greatest possible output of' current with a minimum deteriora-A t 5 tion causedby the action of the battery.

AThe materials used -in the battery forming the subject of this invention may be such as have been heretofore. usedin certain classes of batteries and are preferably zinc,asthe zo active metal or positive element, copper-or iron as the negative element, and black oxide of copper as the depolarizing agent, all being immersed in an exciting fluid, preferably a solution of caustic soda. -The batteries h ereembodying these agencies have been objectionable, as the arrangement has been such that the materials resulting from decomposition of the active agents have formed deposits that iut' or insome cases short circuits have been formed in the battery, thus rapidly thereof and detracting fromthe current tob`e`utilized in the external circuit'. The present invention I 35 aimsto obviate" these dicu'lties and at the same time to greatly simplify the `construction ofthe cell, the arrangement, moreover, being such that the exciting fluid can permeate through the depolarizing agent from all direcsup-A ported in a receptacle which in itself forms the negative element of the battery, thus're- "gicing the number of parte to be constructed. To attain these ends, the cell which forms consists, mainly, of a jar adaptedto be filled with the exciting fluid, the said jar being 'provided with a cover from which are suspended the positive element, consisting of a piece of z inc, and which consists of a perforated metallic receptacle in which the de polarizing material, preferably black oxide of Vtion; Fig.l 2,' a top fectedbyl he ferewith the free action of' pended within terial thus being accessible tothe action of the exciting iiuid from all sides, and in order to increase the surface of the negative element and d'epolarizing material exposed to the direct vaction of the exciting fluid the space within the vstituting the negative element, is provided `'with hollow perforated chambers, preferably perforated receptacle, conextending from one-wall to another thereof, thus practically dividing into a number of' compartments which contain the depolarizng. agent and are substanthe said receptacle copper, iscontained,thesaid depolarizingma` tially surrounded on all sides -by the excitingV duld.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the pre-4 ferred' form of battery embodying this inveng plan View ofthe battery with the cover removed andwith one of 'the hollow partitions shown in section; Fig. 3, a perspective View of the cylinder forming the inner wall of the chamber which constitutes .the negative elemenand Eig. 4.- adetail showing a portion ofthe lower end 'of the perforated receptacle in section..

A jar or receptacle a, preferably cylindrical in form, w ich may be of any material not afaction of a solution of caustic soda, glass being usually used, is employed to contain the various agents which make up the complete-cell. The depolarizing agent, which consists of particles of black oxide of copper, is contained in a perforated receptacle @which is preferably metallic, aud forms the negative element of the battery,

the jar a in any suitable way, 1t being preferable, however, to secure it to the cover a2 of said jar by means of ears or riveted or otherwise secured to the wallsof the said receptacle and fastened to the under side of said cover by means of screws b3 passing upwardthrough said cover and secured, as by a nut and washer, on the outer surface thereof, 'thus rendering the said 4recept acle lreadil y detachable from the cover.

wire may be connected The external circuit with 'one of the said supports b2 by asuitable clamping-nut b whereby it is preferably held between two washers b5, as Ashown in Fig. 1,

the said su por@ and nut constituting the posi-r tive le o the tory.

the said receptacle being sus` The performed receptacle constituting the negative element hee concentric outer and inner peroraed Wells bf o7 connected ai, their Alcrier end by en annuler pnie bg, time making filmed,- ee shown et o?, in order' to afford e greener surfe-ce for. ibo notion of ille exciting filoni.v .liie nonnina receptacle rime form-ed,

in'evingperforeteii Weiie on bciii sidce, ie ce pebie .ci being iioronghly perineeieiifby ine exciting finie, which inne has eccessi 'to 'ee' enrfece oi -neerly every poriieie 'o tbe olepoieriziiog argent., li; corinne,- iiowever, inni,

ine on teirle pnriieiee of .tbe ineen-filmini le, vziioee next to ine weile o' ii-lie recepieolemere in iiie 'moet intimate reiniion' infine n'ifi end izo the ineieriil of' the eeidrecepiecie itself, emi it ie desirable, ,iliiereiorm .to inerreur-eee.,` no .io spook, beovellnree of ine recepiecle. To. ibis one liollcrrperoroteclienlbcre i710 are provided wiliin .ine recepieele, ihne Eorzningepecee for i one free' eccessi ci one depolerizing'egenienii the seid. chambers preferably ejmemifromiiieinner Well 'o7 io ille enter weil @Aline prenoti# eeliyldiririingtne recepecie into e nnniber oi epeoee b, ceci; of ,which bee performed wniie,

A eo timtihe enr-fece o iiie depoierinlng agent coniaineii @herein ieexpoee io e lnrgernegree 'ne the action of ilie exciting iiuiei time, would oiberwiee be tile ceso.. in eoneirneing the receptacle i) tire inner weil or cylinder ie prefn erebiy mafie eeperc're eind ihe'clieinbere o.

nre Uebe'peii, Lire edges ci @be open eines 'inereoi being riveted or oiixerwiec secured iol eniei Weli, while iii-e oner Welle? ine recep-A reele in provided with e, bottoni o3, iieving noemer-ei opening enel n, onori npererudlycxiend ing; enppienieniei Weil om extending upward from me edge of ,seni openingl around which well tbe-lower end or ino inner well of the receptecie ie eepteri te lie wheniin place. The

whole recepieole Zi is time very nimple one eeeily eoneirncied, tno iwo piirie thereof be ing reeiiiig iineembleci, cinco one @bombers bw nerve io comer ibo inner well /wlien in ie pn in piece in ine eener Weil or the receptacle., ie

` being rinviene', however, inet rhin opeciiie c`oneirnction ie not eeeeniiel to ibeinvention. 'ilie chambers on ere provide@ eo tiieiop wiiii covers. bis io prevent tbe eepeierizing agent from peeeingg down inrongii einem 'into the l mein coli of tbe beiiery, especially while ine reeepineieie being ileria By ibis eonernc- *Lion the eoneei-enrfeoe beitween the 'metallic welle eonetitniing tine negetive eleeiroiie end ine exciting nid and iiie enrico@ through einen @eid exciting finie ieee fireci; eeceee to eeeoee 'l j lthe depolarizing agent is largely increased,

,the aren of snrface through `which the exciting liquid passes to the depolarizer being 'practi'lcally increased bythe combined area of the,

Walie of all the-said chambers bw.

Afer "the parte thnefar described are in- I place, the jor a is nearly filled with a. solution of caustic sode, d, the said solution forming ihe exciting iiuid. lSince the recepteble b is perforated, it; is ob'vious that tlie exciting fluid may permeate the saine andeome in contact. with ealch particle of 'thedepolarizing alieni; contained therein, and while metallic copper is set freeby'the action oif` the battery, thus',

rondine: to copper-plate thenegative element,- the said metallic' copperv is deposited on the e j surface of the perforated receptacle b, and it;A

has been found in practice that while the sspid receptacle b becomes, as ib were-, copperf' plet'ed, sufficienti copper is not', deposited iiereo'n .to fill' up the perforntious, so that; the

4oxide of cepper'is exposed to the action of the exeiiing iin'd until it; becomes entirelyrednoed to metallic copper. .During the action of. the battery lie lzinc 'element c becomes grednnlly dissolved, itlieing found, however,

that the action takes place mainly al'fthe iop, v

owing to the-fact, that;4 n percentage of ,oxide of zinc isi-.given oi-an'dheld in solution, and

since the snid'solution is hevierthan 4the so- 1- luiion of caustic soda itveinks toward the botf tom et. the beth, the upper portion of, the bath,

therefore, being purer and consequently more notice-in'niteekl'ng-th'eznej It is necessary,

ICO

therefore, inorder'bhat the'zinc may be fully A niilize to provide means for preventing .the

action of the bai/tory; in .dissolving the upper" portion of rile zinc, from breaking tiieissnp-v poriing connectionol said 'zinc-with .the

cover, 'es would be the caseif a. simple' rbd, .i

cylinder, or strip of zinc were connected'at. ite upper end to the cover.. Such reenltie ac compliehed in accordance .with the present..

invention, as follows: The ZiDe'elementc ie 2 enppored by e suspending rod.y ci, which may be of copper, andwhich extend@ axially sonic. l

distance into the upper endof the zinc c, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. l, said rod. being preferably enlarged or headedor screw-- ihreadedor scored, asslio'w-n, so that when the eine1 iscaet-upon the rod the latter-'becomes rmly embeddedtherein. 'lhe seid Asuspending rod c3 passes through en opening i-nx'the cover a2 and is secured in-'e'ln insnleting-plng'- a3, which me); 'oe ol wood,by`nieens of nbind ing-sockel'. c, constituting thenegctive pole of thebetiery, to which the external conductor may i:e.connect`ed.` l.The opening in ihecover a* is preferably made, als shown, of*

enlioient eize to admit of 'theinsertion of the zinc c, end the insulating-plug as is mede` in the form of ncover for said opening. In order to secure the zinc cto the seid insulatingping, an opening a4 is prorided in the center tnereoi',tl1rongh which the suspending rod ceiepnseed, the upper portion of eeid'rod being enen secured to the binding-socket c'5 sly-seamstress trasmite, and the bint;-

jingsocketvbeing .ofi a diameter larger than that-of the opening a-so thatit is supported yuponithe top ofthe'plug ai. By this conr; structienthe zinc c' may be removed from the battery, if desired,l ywithout removingr the' cover a2 by simpl'ylifting. 4out the' plug as with-v -the zinc attached thereto.

z The external negative conductor c7- maybe :o suitably secured 'in' the binding-socket c5, as

by `a Athumb-screvic". v

The zinc c preferably surrounds the sus', pender cs up to Llieunder surface of the in`A sulatingK-plng asfjand thereby'pr'otects saidv t suspender from tlie action of the battery so- -luti-oni, and inasmuch as the consumption of .zinc-by the actionof the battery increases toward thenppei' surface of the exciting Huid, as before pointedvout, the zinc is made in the 2c conoidal form shown, being of greaterdiame ter at the level of the' upper surfaceof-theexciting duid, and tapering toward its lower end, so that it will be' consumed bythe grade nai reduction of its sideswthout substring# `tially diminishing its length until usedu such an extent as to require the suostitnton...v of a n'ewzinc. Itis tound,also, that the-bestVv results are secured by terminatingthe zincatf some distance above thelower bud of the perforated receptacle constituting the negative element.

The materials exposed to the action of the battery fluidare either ofsuch nature .as not to'be injured by the caustic soda, or may be treated by amalgamation, so as not to'be injurionsly aected'thereby.

It is essential for the best operation. of a battery in which a solution of oaustiesda is employed,"as' the exciting fluid, that the 4o said solution shouldbe entirely. protected .from the air, since'itotherwise becomes deteriorated bythe absorption of carbonic-acid gas therefrom. For this reason the cover a* is tightly securedtothe top of the receptacle .45 a; said cover being'shown as of sheet metal having a rim -aT,'which fits down over ythe np- Aper edge ofthe receptacle a, and is tightly sealed by a rubber band asistretched around the 4sanreand /lapping over from the rim of 5o the' cover onto the side ofthe receptacle a.`

In order tocompletelyprotect the active parts ot the battery from cpntact with air, it is preferable to pour in, after allthe elements 6o best in practice to use paraffine oil.

Il. In a battery cell the combination with a "having a centralopenin g and'plug of insulating material therein', aperforated receptacle secured to the-under side of said cover an`d extending downward into the said solution and having concentric inner and outer walls and containing oxide f copper between said walls, and a positive element consisting of a` mass of zinc suspendedin said solution from the said insulating plug in the cover, substantially'gas described.

2.', In a battery cell, the'` combination with ajar containing an exciting fluid; of a negative element consisting of a receptacle con taining a deplarizing agent and llia-ving empty chambers therein, the wallspf said re ceptacle and chambers being perforated for the better permeation of said exciting iiuid;

land a positive element in said excitingliuid, substantiallyas described.

.A negative elementfora battery cell betwecn fsaidiwalls, combined with hollow chambers extending from one of said walls into said space, said chambers being composed .oE U-shaped perforated 'strips connected at ltheir open endstogone of said cylindrical walls,` said element being adapted to contain A depolarizin scribed.

4. A negative element for a battery cell g material, substantially as decomposed of concentric cylindrical perforatedwalls and a'fbottom piece lclosing the space between said walls, combined with hollow chambers composed-of U-shaped perforated strips interposed between said cylindrical walls and having the space between their side walls coveredat the'top, snbstantially'asand 'for the purp'bse'described.

5. The herein described negative battery l element consisting of an outer perforated wall having a bottom piece with a central, opening therein' and a short' supplemental wall extending upward from the edge of said opening, combined with aninnerperforated wall having perforated chambers eiteuding outward from the outer surface thereof, and adapted to be inserted within said outer wall and to lit around said supplemental walllas described-' hlnntestinony.WittemQl l have signed my two subscribing witnesses.

. RALPH W; GORDON.

Witnesses:

M. E. HILL, H. J. Llvnsnonn.

. nm H5 naine to this specification in the presenb'fmU" 

